How to perform the Box Squat

best use for increasing your vertical jump

Box squats are an excellent exercise for developing both maximum strength and RFD. They are also very beneficial for athletes due to the extra emphasis on the posterior chain. The brief pause on top of the box means your body has to develop force quickly enough to overcome your inertia.

This has many direct benefits for jumping as the quicker you can develop force coming out of the bottom of your jump, the more force you will be able to apply and the higher you will get.

technique tips

There are not too many differences between a box squat and a back squat. However with a box squat most people take a slightly wider stance which engages the hips more. of course a box squat also involves sitting on a box so this changes your technique slightly.

The most obvious change is that it allows you to sit back more into the squat which increases the emphasis on the muscles of the posterior chain. The brief pause whilst sitting on the box also reduces the influence of the stretch shorten cycle. This means you need to really focus on developing force quickly to explode into the lift.

Another consideration when doing box squats is to remember that you still need to lower the weight under control and gently sit on to the box. You definitely don't want to just plonk down quickly with the bar on your back as you may injure your spine.

alternative vertical jump exercises

Some good alternative vertical jump training exercises to the box squat are:

Front Squat - The front squat loads the quads more and reloads the back compared to a back squat.

Goblet Squats - A great introductory squat that teaches good mechanics.

the fastest way to jump higher

Box squats are a great vertical jump exercise but for the fastest way to jump higher you need to check out the jump training methods in Game Changers. These exercises provide gains far above and beyond regular exercises. Find out more by clicking the image below.

WARNING: THE VERTICAL JUMP TRAINING TECHNIQUES DESCRIBED IN GAME CHANGERS ARE EXTREMELY POWERFUL. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN RAPIDLY ADD INCHES TO YOUR VERTICAL JUMP LIKE NEVER BEFORE.